purist

[pyoor-ist]

noun

1. a person who advocates the strictest application of the principles or standards in any field, or who insists on purity in language, style, etc..

   When making hip-hop he began as a purist, putting most of the focus on solid lyrics and less on working with the music and production.

2. Fine Arts.,  Often Purist a practitioner of purism, an early 20th-century style of art characterized by the use of simple geometric forms and images evoking manufactured objects.

   The Purists saw their painting as the next step in the evolution of modern art after Cubism, which they found too decorative.

adjective

1. relating to or being a purist.

   The purist view of theater design is that if there is a column or pillar anywhere, there is a problem.

Other Word Forms

• puristic adjective
• puristical adjective
• puristically adverb
• hyperpurist noun
• nonpuristic adjective
• unpuristic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of purist¹

First recorded in 1695–1705; from French puriste, equivalent to pur(e) ( def. ) + -ist ( def. )

Example Sentences

Some environmental justice advocates and climate purists oppose the deal, but it’s an example of how to make progress in the long term while addressing affordability in the short term.

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This was solidified for me after crossing a threshold that some West Coast purists would blanch at breaching — going to a Rick Bayless restaurant.

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Crawford - with 41 fights, 41 wins and 31 knockouts - is the unbeaten purist.

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The good news for purists is the other three Grand Slams - the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon - are thought unlikely to follow suit in the near future.

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"It's all out of sync, and it's performed differently. And from a purist filmmaking perspective, a very much lower grade product is being seen by the rest of the world."

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